It was time to figure out what was going on with his bubbles. For months Juka's bubbles had been doing some rather unusual things. Oh, they were still just as bubbly and floaty as they ever were and the still kept him nice and warm and dry when the needed to, but the problem was that they had started to do other things as well. Or rather, maybe problem was overstating the matter a little, but that didn't change the fact that they were doing things that they had never done in the past. For example, because of his wonderful little bubbles, he no longer felt the need to eat or sleep or whenever he did feel any of those needs, he simply spent a little time in his bubble and they would magically disappear. He hadn't slept in...he couldn't even remember the last time he had actually slept, but it was sometime before his battle with Aura.

Since that time his bubbles had been doing other things as well. He had discovered, through an unfortunate little experiment, that if someone else was bubbles he could temporarily eliminate their need for food and sleep as well, completely reversing the effects of going for long periods of time without such things. Unfortunately that little event had also resulted in the poor deer Andrea's hair starting to wiggle and move in a rather disturbing fashion which had so freaked Juka out and made him feel so guilty that he hadn't done any further experiments on others of that nature. The small number of experiments that he had done with his power since discovering it had let him to the understanding that he could somehow affect how time operated within his bubbles, but the practical uses of such a power still escaped him, beyond, of course, negating certain bodily needs. Thus, the reason for this little expedition.

Juka had collected up a number of different objects for this little adventure of his, so that he would have a variety of things with which to experiment on. They included such things as a flower, complete with flower pot, a mouse (which he would be very careful not to hurt of course) complete with little mouse cage, some matches, and a handful of other miscellaneous objects that he had put into a backpack and carried with him. He now found himself in an area several miles outside of the city itself (it was difficult to tell the exact distance since he'd floated there in usual fashion) in the middle of a forest. Here, he hoped, he would be able to experiment in peace with nothing and no one to bother him. Hopefully by the time he returned to the city he would have a better idea of what his new bubblely power was capable of.

The first thing Juka did upon arriving at his little patch of forest was to land, unbubble and put his various tools and objects out in front of him. He felt...fear. It was odd and, he knew, irrational. What did he really have to be afraid of? It wasn't like he had anyone with him that he might accidentally hurt with his strange new ability and so far his bubbles hadn't done anything to hurt himself. Yet, still it was there. Things were changing in his life far faster and drastically than he had previously thought possible which might have been fine except for the fact that his powers were changing right along with him. For years his bubbles had been predicable and wonderful and now, right when his life was at its most tumultuous, they had decided to do something strange and unpredictable and frightening.

Knowing that there was really nothing he could do about it, however, Juka took a deep breath and resigned himself to his fate, whatever that may be. Life he could control, at least to some degree, but his powers were something he was stuck with and just had to make the best of. Besides, time control was something pretty cool right? How many people would kill for a power like that? Or at least, he imagined time control would be a cool power and the brief glimpses of the fact that his power appeared to be some kind of time control reinforced that impression. Now, if only he could figure out what exactly that meant and what exactly he could do with such a gift then he might have something to brag about. Or rather, something else to brag about.

Juka spent a long minute looking at his supplies before rebubbling himself. The question was, where was he supposed to begin? Something simple, he decided, something similar to what his bubbles were all ready doing. He knew that his bubbles made it so he didn't have to sleep anymore but what if they could also do the reverse? The mouse was what he needed to test that theory, which was currently sitting there staring curiously at him from inside his little cage. He bubbled the little critter, cage and all, and began thinking very strongly about making the mouse go to sleep. Really, he had no idea what he was doing, but strong thoughts had worked before when he had tried to experiment to logic stated that, maybe, it would work again. A minute past and then a second and the mouse still seemed mouselike and very much awake. Except...was it a little more lathargic than it had been a minute ago?

After a third minute Juka was certain that it was, indeed, not moving as much as it had been previously and, finally, it fell asleep entirely. He jumped up in excitement, whooping into the silent woods. So, test one was complete and successful: Not only could he make things and people less tired, but if given enough time he could also put them to sleep. He wasn't yet certain what that meant to him or what he could do with that knowledge, but it was step one to understanding his new power.

So, putting mice (and other things) to sleep was a check. So far Juka knew that he could both make living things more awake and more sleepy, up to and including actually putting them to sleep. It took a while but there could still be some potential uses for both aspects of that particular power. Maybe he could put enemies to sleep instead of simply hitting them repeatedly with blunt objects? Of course, maybe that wasn't the most practical thing to do given that usually enemies weren't willing to simply sit there for 3 or 4 minutes while they slowly and peacefully got more tired and then passed out. No, the unfortunate thing about enemies is that they were usually trying to do some kind of physical damage to you, thus the fact that they were enemies and not friends or innocent bystanders. Unfortunate, really, since putting them to sleep would be far less traumatic than clobbering them over the head until they fell unconscious.

OK, so with that figured out what was next on his list of experiments? Juka decided that he would continue his living things experiment for the time being. He had the most experience affecting living things anyway, even if that living thing happened to be himself. So, in that case the plant he had brought along was next. Unbubbling the mouse (still sleeping in its cage) he opted to bubble the plant next. Since he appeared to be some sort of time manipulator, it stood to reason that he could manipulate time, right? And by time, he meant that he could make a flower bloom before it was natural. As luck (and careful planning) would have it, there just happened to be an unopened bud on the plant for him to work with.

Once again Juka began thinking very strongly about forcing the flower to bloom. The thoughts weren't any more detailed than that, really, but after several minutes had passed there appeared to be no change in the state of the flower. Just as he was about to give out, he thought the green tendril the bud was attached to might have been a little longer. For that matter, he thought he felt something else as well, an unnatural pull of energy, for lack of a better way to describe it. He was pretty sure that something was happening, it just wasn't happening all that quickly. So, perhaps he could manipulate time but he just couldn't manipulate it quickly. He tried to figure out how long it had taken to put the mouse to sleep, about 4 or 5 minutes by his estimation, as compared to how long it would normally take a mouse to go to sleep naturally. Two or three hours maybe? Or perhaps more? The flower, on the other hand, might take a couple of days to bloom on its own, so it stood to reason it would take a few hours to force it to bloom. Maybe? He was here to figure out what he could do and was in no rush, so he decided to give it at least a couple of hours.

After a full hour had passed Juka was certain that the tendril the bud was attached to had most certainly gotten longer and the bud itself was most definitely larger and closer to the point of blooming. It took, perhaps, another hour and a half after that point for the flower to finally emerge from its little green shell in full blooming glory. Another success, all be it a success that took a little longer than expected. So, his time manipulation went beyond controlling bodily functions it seemed. The question was, what did blooming flowers equate to in a non-plant subject? Increasing phsical maturity? Aging? Also, how long would it normally take a flower like that to bloom? Juka was no expert by any means but maybe he would have to ask Kai. Surely the little plant-mancer could tell him and in knowing that he would have a better idea about how much he was able to affect time.

Juka was starting to feel the strain of using his powers in the manner he had been. It wasn't entirely unexpected as his other experiments of this nature had resulted in a sort of lethargy or exhaustion as well. It wasn't that he was tired really, he felt no need to sleep presumably because his bubble was preventing that particular need, but more that his limbs and mind were beginning to feel tired. He decided that one more experiment could be done before the unnatural exhaustion became too much and he had to rest. Luckily he had also brought supplies for just such an eventuality, in the form of a book. If he was able to sleep all the better,but something told him that despite the exertion he would still be denied sleep.

For Juka's third experiment he decided he would use one of the matches he had brought and play with fire a little bit, so to speak. He lit a match in the usual fashion and then bubbled the flaming match. This particular effort was going to be to see if he could keep the match burning beyond the usual amount of time that such a thing would burn out. So far it seemed that he could both reverse and hasten the progression of time, this experiment would be to see if he could also slow down or halt the progression of time, manifesting in being able to use fuel that the match was longer than was natural. For a third time Juka directed his thoughts towards a particular purpose, this time thinking in the direction of not burning up the match. This time the effects could be seen almost instantly: the fire remained burning but the match was not consumed by the flame. It was amazing to see as first a minute and then two passed and still the little match remained lit and perfect. He was baffled at the effect and decided that time mage bubbler was indeed what he must be.

By this point Juka was feeling the strain of his powers keenly and he unbubbled the match and let it consume itself naturally so that it eventually became a small pile of ashes. He still had experiments that he wanted to try, still had things that he wanted to discover but he knew that, for now, he would need to rest. With that in mind he took out his book and his high quality chocolate (just because he didn't need to eat didn't mean he didn't enjoy the occasional treat) and sat down on the ground, bubble still around him. It would be interesting to discover exactly how long it would take to regain his usual levels of energy but, since he didn't feel any real sense of urgency, he wasn't too worried.

Juka wasn't entirely sure how much time passed while he sat and read his book, resting his powers. He knew that his mouse had awoken and he had fed it little bits of mouse feed to keep it happy. Sometime after that the sun began to set so he knew he had been out for almost an entire day testing his powers and generally allowing himself time away from the chaos of the city. It was oddly peaceful and peace wasn't something he often sought out for himself. In addition to discovering more about what he could and could not do with his bubbles, the time alone was somewhat cathartic. It wasn't until he had gotten out of the city and truly had the opportunity to be alone with his thoughts that he truly realized that he had been needing this get away for quite some time.

Juka thought he had made peace with all of the changes in his life; from the attack on Aura to the encounter with Abyss to the conversation with Van and his subsequent decision to become a proper super hero, using his powers for the benefit of others. He discovered now that while mostly true, his new life and new vision of the world were still trying to settle within his mind. He had his old view of the world, beautiful and chaotic and generally good warring with his new, darker view of the world and he wasn't yet certain which world view would prevail. Abyss and Aura had shown him what kind of evils lurked within the hearts of men and mutants alike and, perhaps, they would have him believe that such evils made up most of the world. But he had also seen great good done and liked to believe that he was one of those who committed great (or at least good) acts of good.

The questions that Juka still needed to work out for himself, in his own mind, were a matter of scope. Good and evil both existed in the world because he had seen both of them but to what degree did each exist? He liked to believe that most people were, at their heart, good people, but what if he was wrong and evil was the predominant motivation? He knew that some people were worth helping and worth saving,but did that mean that all people were worth saving? He knew that in his quest for justice he wouldn't stoop to killing, but that didn't resolve within his own mind exactly how far he was willing to go to enforce his view of what was good and what wasn't. These were the sorts of questions the haunted him, the sorts of questions that he needed to work out in order to be, once again, at peace with himself and his position within the world around him. Until that time he could only do so much.